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Karmanos family helps others to have a calm, natural place to give birth

The Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, is a place hat strives to provide a supportive, "home-like" environment for women looking for a safe, natural childbirth experience. Regina H. Boone, Detroit Free Press

The nurses are holistically trained, and women who labor there can use aromatherapy, massage and birthing balls; they can listen to music and dim the lights, if they find that comforting, or take a walk in the outdoor garden. Regina H. Boone, Detroit Free Press

Women who do qualify for delivery there must take a childbirth class in advance, and be willing to be transferred to the regular labor-and-delivery unit if an emergency arises. Regina H. Boone, Detroit Free Press

The Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak is a place that strives to provide a supportive, "home-like" environment for women looking for a safe, natural childbirth experience. Regina H. Boone, Detroit Free Press

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The Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak was built with a $6-million donation from Danialle and Peter Karmanos Jr. There are six private suites that are designed to enable a mind-body connection.(Photo: Regina H. Boone Detroit Free Press)

Our mothers hold the stories of our childbirth — each one as unique as we are.

Some tell tales of laboring for hours, begging for an end to the agony, only to feel triumph when greeted by a red-faced, screaming cherub.

Others labor so quickly, getting to the hospital in time is a challenge.

Still others deliver by Caesarean section, feeling only a little pressure as the doctor lifts the baby from the womb.

CLOSE

The Karmanos family donated $6 million to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak to build a natural birthing center.

"Your story is your story," said Danialle Karmanos, 41, a journalist and community activist who is married to Peter Karmanos Jr., cofounder of Compuware. "It's the story your kids hear and will hear for the rest of their lives on their birthday. It's a story that you hear every year on your birthday."

The stories the Karmanoses tell are about three natural childbirths — the first of which was with twins Socrates and Leonidas — hand-in-hand, and without pain medication. Each was beautiful, Danialle Karmanos said, and when Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak approached the family about financial support for a natural birth center, they knew it was something they would like to do.

The Karmanos family donated $6 million to create the Danialle and Peter Karmanos Jr. Center for Natural Birth, which opened in November and offers a serene, spa-like atmosphere for women at low risk of complications who'd like to deliver their babies naturally. It's one of the only such centers within a hospital setting in metro Detroit.

"We find the best strollers, the best cribs, why not find the best environment to say, 'Hey, welcome?' " Danialle Karmanos said.

When Karmanos was pregnant with the twins in 2009, her doctor suggested that she should prepare for a Caesarean delivery. But she stood firm.

"I wanted this natural birth experience. And after almost three months of bed rest, I also didn't want to be laid up during my recovery," she said. "I wanted to be with my babies. Fortunately, I have an amazing husband who was completely on board. I was so steadfast in my defiance. … I actually don't even remember the pain of labor when I was delivering the two of them because I wanted to show the doctor that I could do it."

She birthed 9- and 11-pound sons Spiros and Aristides Kyros naturally in 2011 and 2012, both at Beaumont.

"So when we had this opportunity, we said 'Wow, we can stand up for these moms who maybe don't know ... there's another option, that if you want to have a natural childbirth, you can,' " she said. "You can control your story. You know, at the end of the day all that matters is having a healthy baby. But if you want to control your story, you should be able to."

The birth center that bears the family name is full of lush details. Dark wood floors are inlaid with iridescent tile. Greenery spills out of wall-hung planters. The Moroccan-inspired decor is spa-like, and each of the six suites features a large hydrotherapy tub, a shower with massaging shower heads and a queen-size bed.

The nurses are holistically trained, and women who labor there can use aromatherapy, massage and birthing balls; they can listen to music and dim the lights, if they find that comforting, or take a walk in the outdoor garden.

The Karmanoses had a say in just about every detail of the styling of the rooms — from the wallpaper to the wall panels that hide medical equipment.

"This wallpaper that we picked out is actually the same wallpaper that we have in the guest room at our house," Karmanos said of their Orchard Lake home. "When Beaumont came to us and asked us about this partnership, and I said, 'OK, but be careful what you ask for because we're going to be very involved. We're not just going to write a check.' "

Not all women can deliver at the center. Any woman who is considered to be at high risk for complications — such as women with uncontrolled diabetes or high blood pressure, women who've had a previous C-section or a condition called placenta previa, among other conditions, are not eligible, said Missy Knudsen, a registered nurse and the administrative nurse manager for the Karmanos Birth Center and Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at Beaumont.

Women who do qualify for delivery there must take a childbirth class in advance, and be willing to be transferred to the regular labor-and-delivery unit if an emergency arises.

As of Friday, 63 women had started labor in the Karmanos Center for Natural Birth, and 44 had successfully delivered there, Knudsen said. Nineteen women were transferred out before delivery for a number of reasons; some may have just changed their minds and decided they would like pain medication, after all. For others, a medical complication led to the transfer to the regular labor-and-delivery unit nearby, Knudsen said.

Julia Weinberg, 27, of Southfield was among the first women to deliver at the center after it opened in November. She and her husband, Josh Weinberg, welcomed 7-pound, 14-ounce Banno Alexander, their third child, there.

Weinberg said she has a tendency to labor quickly, and already was 8 centimeters dilated when she arrived at Beaumont.

"I liked the surroundings," she said. "I was able to move around more. In the regular hospital room, I had to stay in the bed. But in the Natural Birth Center, I was squatting a lot to help get over the pain.

"The nurses were supportive and very nice. I got to adjust the lighting. ... The only thing that was tough was when you give birth on the bed, there are no stirrups for your legs. So it was hard to push."

Knudsen said the center is always looking for ways to improve, and noted that the center boasts a 99% satisfaction rating.

"There is nothing, nothing in the whole world like women's health," Knudsen said. "And empowering women, giving them choices and control over their experience is so important. In medicine, we can be really paternalistic. So stepping away from what we think is best for someone and allowing them to make choices, and recognizing and appreciating that we are here for support, for the safety piece, but without putting our version of what their experience should be on it. We let it evolve."

Karmanos said while she is grateful for her own natural birth experiences, she and her husband never considered home birth.

"Pete and I both wanted ... to have that natural birth experience, but we didn't want to take any chances," she said. "We both knew that having a natural childbirth was what we wanted. It wasn't the baby's decision, and if God forbid anything happened, we could never forgive ourselves."

And though they chose to deliver their babies naturally, she said she doesn't consider herself an advocate for natural childbirth.

"However you get there, God bless you," she said. "The only thing I care about are healthy babies. However, if you decide that as part of your story you want to go for natural childbirth, then I'm your biggest fan. Then I'm right there with you, I'll tell you you can do it. I'll build a center for you.

"We had such a great experience at Beaumont, I thought maybe there's a way we can pay it forward. So watch out. Here I come with my wallpaper in hand."

If you're interested in delivering at the Karmanos Center for Natural Birth at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, call 248-898-5574. Tonyie Andrews-Johnson, a registered nurse and associate nurse manager for the center, speaks to all potential patients, and takes them on a tour of the center.

The cost of delivering at the natural birth center is the same as delivering in the regular labor-and-delivery unit at the hospital, Andrews-Johnson said.

Though every hospital in metro Detroit allows women who'd like to deliver naturally to do so if it's medically appropriate, the Free Press was only able to find two in-hospital centers that offer a separate space for the natural birthing experience.

Aside from the Karmanos Center for Natural Birth, the Alternative Birth Care Unit at Providence Hospital in Southfield also has three natural birthing suites and a postpartum recovery suite. Each birthing room features a hydrotherapy tub for laboring, a walk-in shower, a queen-size bed, birthing balls, a rocking chair, music and more. The staff is led by midwives and nurses specially trained in natural birth, said spokeswoman Carol Fuller.

"This is really a home-birthing center within a hospital," she said.

Expectant parents can meet the midwives and doulas who work through the Alternative Birth Care Unit at Providence and take a tour 6-9 p.m. May 13 at the hospital, 16001 W. Nine Mile Road, Southfield. To learn more, go to www.theabcunit.com or call 248-849-3919.